Name That Street (In Crozet)

From the Crozet Community Advisory Council:

Crozet had its Main Street –now called Crozet Avenue– for decades. The name was changed as part of the implementation of the 911 system. Meanwhile, when the Crozet Master Plan called for a street to be built that would parallel Rt. 240 on the south side of the tracks, planners dubbed the dotted line on the maps as “main street” and Crozetians, whose memories found  that name jarring,  called it “new main street.”

When the street’s construction was actually begun, the Crozet Gazette called for citizens to nominate a different name for it.  Three names were proposed by more than one person: Library Street, Barnes Street and Lumber Street. Another half dozen names were suggested by one person, among them Owen, Conley, Ellison, Decamp, Peach, Cider and Carroll. At the Crozet Community Association meeting Nov. 11, the candidate names were discussed and a short list was referred to the county for cross-checking against existing names.

Four names survived as viable: Library, Barnes, Lumber and Decamp. At the Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting Nov. 18, councilors eliminated Decamp on the grounds that explaining its Crozet connection–it was Claudius Crozet’s wife’s maiden name–was too obscure and would not be understood by the public. The CCAC asked RealCrozetVa website to post the possibilities to gather community opinion about which is the most suitable before making a formal recommendation to the county. Which would you prefer?

Jim’s note: I’m happy to help in any way that I can. For a brief history and comments on the names, see this post from October.

Continue reading “Name That Street (In Crozet)”

Jarman’s Gap Road Set to be Improved

And it might happen in my kids’ lifetimes.

A $13.5 million project to widen a stretch of Jarman’s Gap Road in Crozet will be advertised for construction in January 2011. The right of way phase for this project first began in 1998.

“Given the amount of development that has taken place, the improvements are important for providing adequate access,” said chief planner David Benish in an interview. The project will also add sidewalks and a bike lane, which will make downtown Crozet more accessible.

Santa is Coming! Santa is Coming! And Other Holiday Events in Crozet – 2010

3 DecemberToy Lift at Great Valu – 10am – 7pm

4 DecemberSanta is coming to Trailside Coffee.

11 DecemberChristmas Parade at 3pm

From a commenter:

Santa Claus is coming to Crozet. The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department’s Annual Christmas Parade is approacing very quickly and we are all very excited!! The Parade will run from Wayland Drive, Crozet Avenue and end at Crozet Park where Santa will greet children of all ages. We will sell hotdogs, chips and bottled water! No invitation needed to participate in the parade. Line up will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11th on Wayland Drive and the parade will start at 3:00 p.m.! Hope to see everyone there!

11 DecemberInnisfree Village Holiday Open House – wreath-making workshop, crafts for sale, children’s activities and more!

18 DecemberHoliday Cookie Decorating and Christmas Story Reading! At Crozet Mudhouse

Santa is Coming! Santa is Coming!

How Many Residents in Old Trail Walk to School?

I’m just curious. With so many families and rooftops in Old Trail, and it being less than a 30 minute walk, how many kids in Old Trail walk to school?

The above is a question that I am asked frequently when I am working with buyer clients who are considering buying homes in Old Trail.

This isn’t a slam on Old Trail, but a question to which I’d love an answer.

I would love to see a story about the restrictions that Western Albemarle, Brownsville and Henley place on walking to school … from someone who has the time to investigate such things. I know whom to talk to and have the story outline, but don’t have the time.

More kids should walk to school.

See the map? It’s not that far! Is a mile and a half really too far for an able-bodied kid (or parent!) to walk? Sure there aren’t sidewalks, but I don’t think anyone would be harmed by walking on the path that has started to be worn into the grass.

Every day that I drive through Old Trail, I see several kids waiting at the Old Trail Town Center for the bus.

As of September of last year, there were 129 kids who attended Brownsville Elementary that lived less than two miles to school. I’d bet quite a few of these are in the Old Trail neighborhood.

And here’s the thing – I know that the schools have prohibitions against kids walking to school (schools, jump in and correct me if I’m wrong) but if parents stepped up and advocated for their kids’ rights and their rights as parents to allow their kids to walk to school, the schools would have to listen.

Have a look at some the the population/density/walkability data yourself.


View Larger Map

I’d be interested in seeing more “walking the walk” – it’s one thing to walk around one’s neighborhood; it’s another to exercise that option beyond. Continue reading “How Many Residents in Old Trail Walk to School?”

Harris Teeter Preferential Parking for Hybrids

From a reader:

Today I was shopping at our Crozet (Blue Ridge) Virginia Harris Teeter and saw that there were special parking places given to those driving hybrid vehicles. You have got to be kidding.

Such political correctness and partisan politics is ridiculous. Driving a hybrid does nothing for planet earth and giving preferential treatment to those who do breaks the principle of justice, treating all people as equally important.

If you wanted to treat some as more important than others, driving a hybrid would not even be on my top 100 categories of people to honor.

How about the poor who can’t afford hybrids? How about the service men and women who make it possible for private citizens to own anything? How about the small business owners who employ most of the people who shop at Harris Teeter? How about those productive few making over $250,000 a year who pay most of the taxes?

You are breaking the principle of justice and equality and encouraging a false sense of pride and hypocrisy. Please change your evil practice and remove the signs for preferential parking based on what type of car people drive.

Tell them to drop the PC parking if they want any Republicans to shop there.

For what it’s worth, I might park there myself in my Honda Pilot. The sticker on the window says ULEV – Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle.

Update 22 November 2010: I had a feeling this post might generate some discussion, but really, I had no idea … I received a thoughtful email from a reader today questioning my posting this in light of the current tensions in our society (at least that’s how I read it) and this is my response:

Thanks for the email.

I debated posting this, but I think the debate is healthy.

Most importantly, we learned that it isn’t HT policy but a LEED one, and I think that is progress.

Also I think confronting the tension and defusing it with calm intelligent response is the best way to approach it, and I hope that that has been accomplished. In my ideal world, the writer will have learned something and move on.

What do you think?

Party for the PARC a Great Success

From Crozet Park:

A huge thank you to all those who contributed and to all those who attended the Party for the PARC event at King Family Vineyards last Friday.  The community event featured music, great food and drink, and a silent and live auction.  We raised $51,000 for the Crozet Park Aquatic and Recreation Center.   We are so close to our goal!  and working hard to open the facility in 2011!  Visit www.CrozetPark.org for more information.

Thanks,

Claudius Crozet Park, Inc.

Update 21 November 2010:

It has been a week since our Party for the PARC live auction event at King Family Vineyard. We simply cannot be happier with the support of our community. It took a team of dedicated volunteers to organize this event, generous donors as well as a stellar turn out from our community who bid on items and wrote many, many checks.  We are very pleased to report that we raised $51,000! This amount simply surpassed all our expectations. THANK YOU TO ALL!

We are closer than ever to the PHASE ONE of our long range planning, which is installing a dome over Crozet Park Pool allowing year-round swimming in our community. But we are not quite there yet.

Please consider donating to Crozet PARC if you have not already. You can do so by making a check out to Crozet PARC and mailing it to

Crozet PARC?PO Box 171?Crozet, VA 22932

or make a donation on-line by going to http://www.crozetparkpool.com/parccampaign.html.
 

Help Our Neighbors in Crozet this Thanksgiving

Via NBC29:

For most, Thanksgiving is a time of enjoying plenty of food with our friends and families, but for some Thanksgiving is a reminder of just how little there is to go around. Now, Crozet Baptist Church is doing its part to give families in need a holiday to remember.

For the past 21 years, Crozet Baptist Church has taken part in the Share the Blessing Ministry, providing a full Thanksgiving meal for hundreds of families in need. Last year, Share the Blessing served more than 200 families and this year, they are looking at helping close to 325. 

Volunteers are coming together all throughout western Albemarle County, but they need the community’s help to do it. 

Update:

Thank you so much for contacting us about our Share the Blessing Ministry.  At this time, all items on our grocery list are still in need, especially turkeys.  Anything you can do to help would be much appreciated.
 
Our grocery list is as follows: 

– 50oz can green beans
– Boxed stuffing
– Boxed potatoes
– Canned cranberries
– Can or jar gravy
– Turkey (any size frozen)
– Frozen pies (any flavor)
 
Food can be dropped off at Crozet Baptist  until 5pm today or between 9am and noon tomorrow.  We will be doing our final counts and shopping tomorrow afternoon. 
 
Thank you so much for your interest in our mission and we ask that for your prayers for so many families in need.  Blessings to you and yours for a wonderful Thanksgiving.
 

Crozet Music Fest – Now in the Spring!

From their Facebook page:

Inquiring minds want to know, and you’ve been calling, so here you go. We can say with 95% certainty that the first Spring CMF will be held May 13, 14, and 15, 2011 at 4 sites in and around Crozet. The papers aren’t signed, but it looks like we’re good to go to return to Crozet Park with a Country/Bluegrass/Gospel mix…. Other locations can’t yet be confirmed, but there will be 3 more: a Festival Mix site (similar to what we’ve always done), a Christian Music site, and a fourth site variously called Guitarist Paradise, Banjo Paradise, and Drummer’s Paradise. Working on the locations for Sites 2, 3, and 4, will keep you all posted on the progress. Check the website for pics from last year: www.crozetmusicfestival.com